


Memento Alphabeto Tuum

by MaddieForTheFandoms11



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Assassins & Hitmen, Coming of Age, F/M, Family Dynamics, Insanity, M/M, Memory Loss, Mother-Son Relationship, Parenthood, Post-Kingdom Hearts I, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Kingdom Hearts I, Sora is a little ball of sunshine, badassery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2018-12-04 05:33:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11548530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddieForTheFandoms11/pseuds/MaddieForTheFandoms11
Summary: Rated Teen for now. Was Sora really the only one who dealt with memory loss? The truth, however fanciful, might be closer to home than he ever would have guessed in a million years.Used to be titled "I Met Her After She Punched Me", but that name was dumb, so I changed it to something hopefully a little less dumb





	1. Prologue

Prologue

 

A/N: If I owned Kingdom Hearts, this wouldn’t be on a fanfiction website, and Kingdom Hearts III would’ve come out A LOT SOONER and we wouldn’t have had to wait a decade for crying out loud. That’s on Square Enix, not me. Also, Dream Drop Distance wouldn’t have happened in the first place.  
Also, heads up: this fic’s pretty dark. Just saying. Don’t like, don’t read. I’m talking assassins and big kid language and gore and adult scenarios. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.  
Enjoy!

Rain poured buckets down from hazy gray skies. Lightning rolled lazily from the cloak of dark clouds, and thunder rumbled in lazy succession. The streets were empty aside from the occasional passerby, scurrying home from under their umbrellas and whatever else they could hold over their heads, keeping under cover as much as was possible. It wasn’t the worst storm they’d had at Radiant Garden, but it was a dark one, the type that kept even the bubbliest of folks in a solemn mood.

Despite all this, most of the Hallow Bastion Restoration Committee members were out and about. Yuffie was on patrol, but her shift would soon be over, so Leon was spending the time amid the peace and quiet while he still could, conducting research using Cid’s computer. There were no lights left on in the room, just the eerie pale glow that illuminated his face as he concentrated on what the display was showing him. There was no sound either, just the clacking of keys as he typed, with the rain drizzling outside the window, accented by the soft echo of thunder in the distance every once in a while. A small pail had been placed in the corner to catch a leak, and occasionally there would be a small plip as a drop joined the others combined to make a small puddle at the bottom.

He almost didn’t notice her. Honestly, it was impressive that he did notice her at all, but perhaps that was only because she wanted him to. He whirled suddenly in the chair, his gunblade held before him as he prepared himself for a fight. “What are you doing here?”

She stepped gracefully into the light emitted from the screen, her usual catlike smile looking especially sinister bathed in the pale glow. “It’s wonderful to see you too, Leon. How have you been?” her voice was silky and smooth, almost a purr, a voice that fit well with her striking figure. She wore an all-black leather skinsuit, designed to show off her impressive curves, with a plunging neckline and high black stiletto boots. She cocked her hip to the left with a practiced grace and tilted her head slightly, her tall black ponytail sliding flawlessly over her shoulder. Despite its height, Leon could see that it ended well past her thighs.

“What do you want, Charlie?” he growled.

Full ruby lips parted to emit a peal of laughter as clear as a bell’s. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m not here to kill anyone right now. You’re my friend, Leon.”

“Past experience working with you suggests otherwise.”

“Maybe for most people. But in this line of work? I’d say we’re real close,” she purred. She stepped forward in her smooth manner, but he lifted his gunblade to her eyelevel and she paused. She lifted her hands in front of her, and he could see her blood red immaculate nails filed to a tall rounded point peeking over each finger, like claws on a cat. Or perhaps a panther. “What, don’t trust me? I’m hurt, Leon.”

“I know better than to let you anywhere within five feet from me. Stay where you are.”

Charlie shrugged. “Fair enough.” She pulled up a chair from the table and sat down facing him, her legs crossed in a dignified manner. “Don’t worry, I’m not here for a client. Think of this like a social visit.”

“…A social visit,” he echoed skeptically.

“Yes, of course! I mean, it’s been, what, twenty years since we last spoke to each other?” She batted her long black lashes at him while flashing him another perfect smile.

His eyes narrowed. “You want something.”

Her cherry lips parted, her perfect white teeth flashing in a full beam. “That’s what I like about you, Leon. Never one for games. Straight to the point. It’s why you’re so reliable.”

“I’m not patient either. Get to the point.”

She sighed dramatically. “Alright, alright, I suppose I will then. Pity. I do love to reminisce with old friends.” She leaned forward, fully aware that any normal man would be having a near impossible time struggling to keep their eyes on her face at this point. Leon, of course, had no problem keeping his gaze at eyelevel. “To be honest, I’m looking for someone. My sources say you know him well.”

“And who exactly do your sources say that I know?”

She examined her nails in front of her, her lips curved back into her trademark catlike smile. “They say you know the boy with the key,” she said softly. Dangerously.

Leon’s expression darkened further.

She stood slowly, still inspecting her nails. “You could attempt to lie to me, but I think you and I both know why that won’t work. Not with me.” Her long lashes blinked and her colorless eyes flickered up to meet his gaze. “You know what I am, after all.”

“Do I look intimidated?” he growled.

She chuckled. “Oh, Leon, baby, don’t try deluding yourself. Even you know that’ll never work. You know what I am. I am Charlie.” And suddenly she was inches from his face, his blade ripped from his grasp and clanging to the floor across the room, her clawed hand clasped tight in a vicelike grip around his throat. Thunder rumbled ominously from the distance. She pulled his body closer to hers and grinned seductively, leaning forward. “I was made to be better, even against the likes of you.”

The door burst open and Yuffie was there, soaking wet with a hardened gleam in her eye, shuriken at the ready. “Squall!”

Charlie’s eyes flashed as she saw the postcard of three triumphant faces at the Olympic Coliseum laying against the dashboard of Cid’s computer. She snatched it her other hand and inspected it further with a dark chuckle. “It’s all right, Leon, I have what I came here for. Thanks for reminiscing!” her laughter rang high and clear, and with a metallic hum and an electrical spark, her body vanished, leaving nothing but a turquoise smirking afterimage fading into mist.

Leon crashed to his knees, coughing and wheezing, and Yuffie rushed to help him. When he caught his breath, she asked, “Who was that?”

Leon winced slightly, rubbing at his sensitive neck. “No one good,” he rasped out.

She pulled him up onto the computer chair, examining his pallid face worriedly. “She was strong. Scary strong. Why was she here? Why’d she attack you?”

“She’s looking for Sora.” He stared off at the pouring rain outside the window, his teeth set in a scowl. “Let’s just hope we find him before she does.”


	2. Chapter One: Twenty Years Earlier

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UPDATE 9/30/18: I CHANGED ISA TO SAI TO PREVENT FURTHER CONFUSION. SORRY

Chapter One

Hiro POV

~Twenty years earlier~

It was the first day of calm after a week and a half of stormy weather, and I honestly couldn't tell you who was more relieved for the sunshine – us teens, who'd been cooped up in our houses for what seemed like forever, or our parents, who'd been at their wits end, struggling to keep us indoors and safe, while still having to deal with our sour teenage moods. The moment they could tell the storm had passed, we were scooted out the door and shooed to the docks. My dad took us out with his boat and dropped us off at the island while he went fishing as usual, and no one complained about this arrangement in the slightest.

It was the five of us, just as it had been for a while now: Rei, the competitive son of a politician; Shiro, his younger sister who would follow him everywhere but spoke as often as a palm tree did; Akane, the seventh daughter of a shopkeeper, whose hair was about as fiery red as her temper; Sai, my best friend; and me. Rei had issued the challenge of a race and of course Isa took him up on it, and of course little Shiro just watched silently as Akane whined about the whole thing as usual.

"Why do we have to race again?" Akane protested. "Can't you guys think of a better game to play that doesn't involve showing off how manly you think you are?"

"What do you mean?" I asked. "You don't have to be manly. You're faster than me!"

"That's because you don't even try, Hiro," she retorted. "And so not my point."

"You're not gonna win this time, Sai! I'm going to win!" Rei claimed.

Akane huffed haughtily. "I'm gonna sit this one out, guys. No way I'm doing this again."

"Aww, c'mon, Akane, don't say that," said Sai teasingly. "Don't you wanna prove you're better than all of us?"

"I'm not stooping to your bait. I'm refereeing!"

"What's Shiro gonna do, then?" I asked.

"She can cheer you on," Akane insisted.

We all looked at Shiro, who, as usual, said nothing, and blinked softly behind her platinum bangs. She shrugged, and that was that.

"Whatever," Rei said. "Let's just start the race. I'm gonna beat you, Sai!"

"Not a chance!"

I was perfectly content with laughing along and running behind the others, not even trying to get ahead. I was the mediator, I guess you could say, the peacekeeper of the group, and most often the scorekeeper when the circumstances called for it. It had always been like this, ever since we were little and clumsy and still requiring adult supervision. I joined in the race, but didn't try to get ahead. I was fine with running behind Sai and Rei, Shiro and Akane watching from the sidelines. Despite his boasting, Rei was falling behind Sai, who was always so incredibly fast. Everyone was so happy (no matter how hard Akane refused to admit it), and with the sun shining from above amid fluffy white clouds and a sky so blue it rivaled the crystal ocean, it was easy to wind up in the belief that everything was as it should be: completely and utterly perfect.

Of course, then I tripped and fell off the rickety old bridge that always seemed to lose boards with every year that passed, but if I hadn't, I probably wouldn't have noticed the frail, immobile body in the water underneath its leaning beams.

I let out a startled shout, and the others stopped midrace to come running over.

It was the body of a young girl, slight of frame and curled limply into the fetal position, her ragged clothing torn and soaked with sea water. There was sand and a bit of seaweed tangled in her long, brown, bird's nest of wet locks, and her lips were a bluish purplish white. Her closed eyes were bruises against sickly pale flesh.

Akane's hands flew to her mouth with a gasp of horror.

"Is she…?" Rei whispered.

I knelt beside her, the water splashing at the impact of my knees. "H-Hey," I muttered nervously, and reached out to grab her bare shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?"

A dumb question in hindsight, but I wasn't really concerned about that.

There was no answer, no movement.

"Is she…?" Sai gulped.

Gently, I gave her shoulder a little nudge, as if to wake her from her sleep.

And wake she most certainly did. At that light contact, the girl was suddenly bolting upright with a shrill screech, her right arm swinging, and she punched me in the jaw.

Needless to say, this scared the living daylights right out of all of us, and we all must've jumped at least a foot in the air. I'd been knocked onto my backside in the water, and I rubbed my jaw in pain and shock as I stared up at her.

The girl stumbled to her feet, her legs spread slightly in a defensive stance, as if expecting a fight and preparing to defend herself. She clutched at her side with her left arm, and I could see blood mixed with ocean water running through her fingertips. Her muscles shook, and despite the stance, it was clear that she was barely keeping herself upright. Her eyes were wild with unbridled intensity, and she panted like she'd just been running a marathon. She was sick and wounded, and judging from the amount of blood leaking from her side, mortally injured.

If there was one thing I'd learned from my mother, it was what to do when you come across a sick or mortally wounded animal. She was a veterinarian at a clinic, and there had been plenty of times where she'd spent months helping an injured and traumatized animal. Sadly, the cases of abused or abandoned pets were not unheard of at the mainland, and my mom had made it her personal mission to help each and every one of those creatures in her care. There was a grace and an immeasurable patience she had with those critters, and only for them she used a soft-spoken voice to calm them down.

The look in this girl's eyes was wild and terrified, and I recognized the same look from every single one of those animals my mother had saved. They always recovered, and I made up my mind in that moment that she would too, if it was the last thing I did.

Slowly I held up my hands and assumed a position my mother had taught me to use around those animals. It was a nonthreatening position that meant, 'Look, I won't hurt you, I want to help.' Making sure to move as slowly and subtly as possible, I stood carefully, my palms extended before me in a sign of surrender, of peace. With a soothing, reassuring tone, I spoke softly, "Hey, it's okay. My name is Hiro, and these are my friends. Can you tell me your name?"

The girl just stared, her eyes wild, spooked, and untrusting. I had no way of knowing if she was even able to understand me, let alone if the storm hadn't addled with her brains enough so that she wouldn't be able to comprehend human speech. I stayed in this position, and she stayed staring at me, for what seemed like a decade. Luckily, I'd inherited that same patience from my mother, and luckily the others were smart enough not to make any movements while I kept her eyes trained on me.

As we stayed in this standoff, I found myself strangely engulfed in those brown orbs that stared back at me. Yes, they shone with terror, and whatever horrible trauma she'd probably been through, so they were blown wide and dilated, but I realized that her eyes were probably the biggest and most unusual eyes I'd ever seen. The brown in them was unlike any brown I'd seen on a person, light and rich in hue, almost identical in comparison to that honey colored whiskey Akane's father was so fond of. I found myself wondering if maybe… maybe she was from another world.

"What's your name?" I asked her again, softly, hoping that once we got past the first name basis, she'd calm down enough for us to get help.

But then her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she collapsed bonelessly with a splash in the water, as if she was a puppet with her strings cut.

There was a moment of stunned silence.

Akane spoke first, her voice high with hysteria. "What the hell just happened?!"

I quickly moved to pick the girl up from the water. She was alarmingly light in my arms, even for someone of her petite stature, and I could see the nasty gash on her side that was leaking so much blood. "Sai," I said calmly, turning to my best friend, who still looked a bit shaken. "Go get my dad, will you?"


	3. Kaede

**_Chapter Two_** _  
__  
__Kaede POV_ _  
_  
When I first heard the news that my little brother had saved a strange girl from dying, I'd thought it was a joke.  
  
I know, I know, I'm a bad person for thinking that. In my own defense, it had been my best friend Imani who had called me from the hospital, and since I tended to work night shifts, I was asleep when she called me.  
  
"Ugh, _Imani_ ," I groaned. "Could you please wait until I get some sleep before you call me about the latest gossip?"  
  
Imani was the type of happy-go-lucky free-spirited person who got her job at the little town hospital because her mother, a CEO, owned the place. Whether it was to get her out of the busy woman's hair, or to get Imani out into the workforce, no one really knew for certain, but Imani was always happy and hyperactive and followed me around like a puppy ever since I stuck up for her once at the hospital cafeteria. I'm not saying she annoys me or anything; I'm a grumpy person by nature, but she likes to talk and I occasionally like to listen. We actually work well together and balance each other out, most of the time. Still, there are times like this when I'd much rather she let me have my solitude when I need it.  
  
"But-wait-you-have-to-hear-this-you'll-never-guess-what-the-bossman-just- _told_ -meeeee!" she squealed dramatically over the phone.  
  
_She's not gonna let me go back to sleep until she says this, isn't she?_ I thought grumpily, then groaned loudly against my pillow. "Fine. What happened this time?"   
  
"Bossman told me that your little brother and his friend just came into the ER with a half dead girl they found at the island!"  
  
It took me a moment to process that. "Okay, Imani. I want you to be honest here. Who put you up to this?"  
  
"No one did! I promise this isn't some prank! Your brother really did come in with a half-dead girl!"  
  
"It was Simon, wasn't it? Or Lena. I betcha it was Lena."  
  
"This isn't a prank! I'm serious! And the last I heard is that she was really hurt, too. Like, all bleeding from the side and stuff. And they had to carry her in, poor thing. I hope she wasn't out in that storm! All the wind and humidity just destroys my hair. It's awful—"  
  
"Wait, wait, slow down. Seriously?"  
  
"Completely serious."  
  
"My brother is at the ER and he brought a girl they found on the island," I said, still skeptical. You couldn't make up half the shit the pranksters on the hospital staff cooked up off the top of their heads, and it wouldn't be the first crazy plot Simon and Lena used for pranking.  
  
"Yeeeeess! Weren't you listening? They were racing or something and they found her washed up, bleeding and acting like a wild animal or something. They tried to give Hiro something for his face because it was all swelling because she'd punched him, but he kept refusing. And she was bleeding a lot, too. I heard he and his friend Sal or Sam or something had to carry her in."  
  
I sat up slowly. "Sai?"  
  
"That's his name! I always forget—"  
  
I passed my hand over my face. If Sai was there, this was no prank. That kid hated hospitals. He'd been there the day his grandfather died in that very same building, and Lena and Simon had both been present when Sai had started freaking out. It was a sore subject for them, especially since they’d both been new and inexperienced at the time. Those two pulled a lot of crap, but they wouldn't go so far as to bring Sai into all this.  
  
Imani was still talking. "I heard that Rin's the one who's gonna be operating—"  
  
"RIN is?!”  
  
“That's what the bossman said—”  
  
“Fuck it, I'm on my way."  
  
"But—"  
  
I hung up on her and dove to the closet where my scrubs were, tripping over the shoes I'd tossed in just a few hours prior. I was not the most coordinated person in the mornings (hence why I did the night shifts) but I was determined to be at the hospital within the next ten minutes.  
  
They decided to let Rin operate? Who in the hell got away with making _that_ decision? I know the hospital was short on staff and money at the best of times, but _Imani_ would be a better candidate for this, and she was the type of person who got distracted at the sight of a butterfly. Rin had some training, yes, but she was not the woman for the job. She was lazy and inexperienced, and tended to give up far too easily under pressure. And if Sai and my brother found this girl, and brought her all the way from the island to the ER, there was no way I was just gonna let an incompetent doctor ruin this girl's chances of survival solely because of half-assed decision-making.  
  
I shoved my shoes on, stumbled my way to the bathroom and raked my hairbrush through my unkempt hair. When it looked somewhat presentable I shoved my glasses on and grabbed my keys, not even bothering with makeup or brushing my teeth or any other parts of my daily hygiene routine.  
  
I made it in nine minutes, and I marched straight to the bossman's office. He was sitting in front of the computer there, typing and looking stressed. His desk was a mass heap of binders, papers, and random textbooks, and at the very edge, barely balancing with a heavy folder shoved where it had once sat proudly, was the plaque that read his name, Doctor Samuel Belman, and his credentials. I squared my shoulders and declared, "I'm going to operate on that girl."  
  
The bossman took one look at me and sighed. "Kaede, you know we're short on money right now. Even if I did have the funds to pay you to perform a surgery when you're not even on the clock, Rin's parents are offering us a lot of money to get her started."  
  
"Rin can wait for another opportunity. I'm going to operate."  
  
"And why is that?"  
  
"Because this girl's life is at stake."  
  
"Rin needs real experience at some point, Kaede. You know this."  
  
I huffed with impatience. "C'mon, Bossman, my brother brought this girl in. From the _island_. You think I'm just gonna let it slide and have to be the one to tell him that all that work getting her all the way here was for nothing?" _  
  
_ His chair squeaked in protest as he leaned back in it. He blinked in bewilderment. "Did you just call me Bossman?"  
  
I flushed. "Imani's idea, not mine. Don't change the subject!"  
  
He squirmed, uncomfortable under my steel gaze. This boss of mine was a pushover, and while that proved to be more than a little inconvenient in the long run, such as it had with Rin’s parents, at the moment I was grateful that he was. "Fine. But this is off the record. You're not getting paid extra for this either, you hear? We don't have the mon—"  
  
"YES! Thanks, Bossman!"  
  
As I skidded out into the hallway to catch Rin in time, I could faintly hear him chuckle, "Bossman. Dear Lord above."  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
_AN: I'm pretty fairly certain that it's obvious that I know next to NOTHING about hospitals and the medical field, so if I got something wrong feel free to let me know. I know I'm terrible at updating when it comes to my other stories, but I have a good feeling about this one. Let me know what you think!_

  
 -M


	4. Taya

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay, so here's a few notes I should probably inform you guys about. Some of these are IMPORTANT *hint hint* so you should probably pay attention, because I might add to them later on. 
> 
> First off, I know the timeline is a bit confusing in the beginning of this story. That's my bad. For now, all you need to know is that the prologue takes place in the very beginning of Kingdom Hearts II, shortly after Sora wakes up and everyone is remembering him at the same time. The first couple of chapters are twenty years prior, and though that does sound a little boring, it's GONNA BE IMPORTANT so better buckle up. I'm just setting up the characters and then BOOM we get smack in the meat of things, and I warn you, it might become a bumpy ride. I've got PLANS MUAHAHAHAHA
> 
> I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT ISA IS ALREADY A KINGDOM HEARTS CHARACTER!!!! *SOB*
> 
> I feel like an idiot for forgetting that. I was looking up Japanese names and their meanings, and I saw the name 'Isa' and what it meant, and figured it would be a good name for Hiro's best friend. He is NOT the same Isa with the Nobody named Saix. That was my bad. The Isa in this story is completely OC. 
> 
> This story is, for now, unbeta'ed (Unbeta'd? HAS NO BETAAAAA). If you spot something wrong, please let me know. Comments tend to get you chapters faster. The last thing I want is to make a big major mistake that is blatantly obvious and I remain blissfully unaware, so please, lmk. 
> 
> I've been trying to overcome this five year writer's block, so any words of encouragement are greatly appreciated. This story has been gripping at my mind for, what, a year now? Honestly, I'm blaming it on this extreme baby fever I've been having, so you can blame it on that. And my love for hurt/comfort because this story is gonna bring the PAIN *sob*
> 
> *malicious cackling* ENJOY
> 
> UPDATE 9/30/18: I CHANGED ISA TO SAI TO PREVENT FURTHER CONFUSION. SORRY

Chapter Three

Taya POV

 _I've seen some weird cases, but this one takes the cake_ , Taya thought to herself. _And of course Hiro and his friends would be right in the middle of it_.

Still, she could hardly blame her son for this. If she had to admit it, one of the two biggest emotions she was feeling right now was pride. _Yes, it was MY son who'd helped the frightened, sick and dying child this morning. MY son hadn't left her side, staying with her even after they made it to the mainland from Ro's boat and they got a ride to the emergency room. It was MY son who insisted they use his blood when there was need of an emergency transfusion, although they couldn't use his in the end because her blood type was incompatible with his_. (Mrs. Satou from down the street ended up volunteering in his stead.) Sure, Sai helped carry her in, but he froze once they passed through the front doors. And what were the other kids doing? Staring?

The other big emotion pounding through her, however, was a dark one. How that poor girl had managed to get so far out from the mainland, end up under a precarious bridge on the children's island in the middle of a raging storm that lasted for a full week and a half, wearing little more than rags… If anyone knew what keeping growing island children indoors for a week and a half felt like, it was Taya. No teenager, especially at the age where they're neither fully adults nor fully children, wants to be cooped up inside with their parents for that long, and yes, it does feel at a point like you as a parent are going insane. But that doesn't give anyone the right to just let a little girl run around in a storm like that anyways! And dressed so lightly! The kid could've died! It's really a miracle she was still alive in the first place! Of all the irresponsible! _When I find out who this girl belongs to, there'll be hell to pay. I'mma show them just what happens to those who abuse and neglect the innocent under MY watch_.

Taya hmphed to herself and crossed her arms over her chest with satisfaction at the thought.

She was still in her veterinarian scrubs, sitting in a bright orange chair in the waiting room of the hospital ER. Her left leg bounced impatiently as her blue eyes bored into the canary yellow clock hanging on the wall directly before her. Taya may have had the patience of the ancients when it came to the sick or traumatized animals in her care, but her patience towards humans in general was practically famous in its nonexistence. She much preferred the company of animals and the crass countryfolk she'd been raised around. She dreaded the thought of spending time with those silly fashion-driven women calling themselves dignified 'ladies' in the classier districts of the mainland. She was a hothead on the best of days when it came to social interaction, but when it came the safety and well-being of her family, she was a teeming, short-tempered, hyperactive ball of maternal energy.

The door opened at last, and from it emerged Ro, the one person in the world capable of talking her down from a fight. The brains to her brawn. Her husband, just returned from inspecting the island after dropping off the kids and the girl at the ER. Her foot stopped tapping. “Any clues?”

Ro swiped his calloused hand over his unshaven face before he sat her back down in the obnoxiously luminous chair beside hers. His face was drawn with exhaustion and stress. "I'm not a policeman, Taya," he sighed wearily. "Hell, I have about as much experience investigating clues as you have in ballet dancing. But…" His gray eyes held a grim hesitance, and Taya knew without a shadow of a doubt that he'd found something when looking around the site their son had found the shipwrecked little girl, and that whatever it was he'd found wasn't good.

"What’d you find?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the most peculiar envelope Taya had ever seen.

It was made of what had to be some sort of thick, waterproof material, silver and textured with scaly bumps like snakeskin. It had a crimson seal on the front, now broken, that had been stamped with a strange crest, in the shape of two small hands cupping two overlapping hearts: one white, one black. The scales of the envelope seemed to gleam when it caught the sunlight from the window behind her shoulder, but for some reason she knew that it was not a friendly gleam. There was something strangely ominous and dark about this peculiar object she held in her lap. Something sinister. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on, but reminded her for some reason of all those who'd abused the critters she'd helped in the first place. It even had a faint bitter scent to it, like sulfur and aged chemicals.

"What the hell?" murmured Taya.

"That's not even the scary part," her husband replied. "Look inside."

Taya raised her eyebrow, but opened the envelope anyway. She reached in, and pulled out…

A letter. Brown, a little aged, but just a letter.

"Shit, Ro. You had me thinking it was gonna be a bloody nail or an ear or something," Taya joked.

"After reading it, I wish that's all it was," Ro replied darkly.

Her eyes flitted to catch his in surprise. "Is it that bad?"

"Read what it says, Tay. Trust me, you'll see what I mean."

And so Taya let her gaze slide back down to the letter in her lap. And she read.

And she stiffened more with each line.

At last, when she finished, she turned back to her husband. She opened her mouth to speak, but found no words. And that, honestly, was a feat in and of itself: rendering Taya speechless.

What was a person supposed to say after reading something like that?

They sat like that, in silence, just taking in the magnitude of the words written on the brown paper that had been stored in the strange scary envelope, contemplating its morbid contents.

And just as Taya was about to throw the horrible orange chair out the window in a fit of pure anger, a familiar young woman wearing dark blue scrubs opened the door. "You can come and see her now," Kaede said, pressing her thin black glasses further up her nose. "Hiro's already with her."

Taya and Ro exchanged looks, stood simultaneously, and followed her without a word between them.


	5. The Girl

Chapter Four

_The Girl POV_

 

She bolted upright with a gasp, eyes flickering around her and gathering immediate information on her surroundings. She was in a white hospital bed, in a white hospital room, her arm hooked up with various IVs that were linked to a bunch of medical machinery, one in particular obnoxiously voicing her accelerated heart rate. She ripped out the needles and her arm instantly began to bleed, and the machinery went haywire, screeching at the lack of heartbeat and vital signs. She moved to slide off the bed And was astonished at her lack of control of her own body; it was as if she had been drained of all her energy, and that terrified her. She grit her teeth and slid off anyways, bracing herself against the bedside table. Her legs felt like rubber, but she forced herself to move to the door, leaning heavily against the wall.

A male nurse entered the room, then saw her out of bed, panting and sweating like she'd just run a marathon in 100° heat. "Whoa! What are you-"

With lightning fast reflexes, the girl knocked him out with one swift blow, and he collapsed in a heap onto the floor.

The girl searched his pockets for anything she could use. She took his identification scan card, scissors, and one of his pens, then moved to grab the IV pole to lean on so she could escape somewhat more easily. If she had more control of her body, she would've preferred the vents, but she could barely walk on her own, let alone lift herself into one of them, so that option was shot.

She looked both ways to find the hallway empty before making her way down to the nearest exit sign. She was almost to the elevators when the scary thoughts began to creep in.

_How did I get here?_

_Where is 'here'?_

_What happened to me?_

And then the scariest thought of all...

_Who... Who am I?_

This thought froze her in her tracks. She was now hyperventilating, her fingers pins and needles with a white-knuckled grip on the pole. Her knees were trembling.

She heard a shout behind her, and just when her legs gave out beneath her, there was someone behind her to catch her. She turned to look up at his face, startled to find he looked kind of familiar. A boy with black spiky hair, sun-kissed skin, blue eyes that were slightly crinkled in a way that proved he smiled a lot more than he didn't, now looking at her with deep concern. "Are you okay? What happened?"

The girl swallowed past the lump in her throat. "Where... Where am I?"

"You're in Tetsuya Hospital. Do you remember what happened to you?"

"...No, I-" she felt like she could barely breathe through her increasing panic. "I can't remember anything; why can't I remember anything?"

His eyes widened.

"Hiro!" The girl tensed at the rapidly approaching female doctor. "Get away from her, Hiro. She attacked Simon!"

Hiro helped the girl to her feet, letting her lean heavily on him. "She's just scared," he responded. "He's fine, right?"

"She knocked him out!"

"Yeah, well, he's an idiot. He's been annoying everyone for years. Karma."

The doctor's face suddenly looked like she was struggling to keep a straight face. "True." Then she turned to the girl. "Can you walk? Do you need a wheelchair?"

The girl pushed herself out of Hiro's arms. "I'm fine." She struggled to keep from swaying.

The doctor raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Uh-huh. Sure. Just accept the help, hon. Your body hasn't been used to walking in months."

The girl looked at her with fierce determination. "I said I'm fine."

"Listen up, sweetheart. I've been dealing with stubborn fishermen and countryfolk since I was old enough to walk. Either I get you a chair, or I carry you like a child. Your choice."

The girl glared daggers, but the doctor held firm. "Fine. A chair."

 

* * *

 

Back in the hospital bed, the girl found herself still on edge about the whole situation. The doctor she'd knocked out had been removed and most likely taken to his own examination room, though she knew they'd find no permanent damage.

And that was another thing. How did she know how that? How did she know how to strike like that, especially as weak as she was? Why was her first instinct at waking up in a hospital to knock out the nurse and find the quickest means of escape? For crying out loud, she'd been honestly considering using the vents. Who does that? _Who am I?_

"How are you feeling?" The boy startled her out of her thoughts as he sunk into a chair by her bedside. Not sure how to respond, the girl shrugged. He leaned back into his chair. "My name is Hiro. My friends and I found you on the beach a few months ago, wounded and sick. We brought you to the ER, and my sister, Kaede, volunteered to be your doctor. You've been in a coma for about five months now. I'm just glad you're finally awake."

"I attacked that nurse."

"You were scared, and you didn't know where you were. Plus, Simon's kind of an asshole. He had it coming."

The girl looked at him incredulously. Was he seriously trying to make her feel better?

"So, I was thinking," he said abruptly. "I gotta call you by a name, not 'hey, you' all the time. Got any ideas?"

The girl looked at the hands folded in her lap, concentrating hard. Her memories were frustratingly elusive; every time she felt like she was close, they billowed out of her reach like tendrils of smoke. Then, for some reason, a letter burst to the surface of her blurred memories, as clear as water. "Starts with an E," she whispered, in awe.

"An E?" His voice made her jump. "That makes it easier. How about... Eri?"

The girl glanced up at him in surprise. He flushed, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "It's a heroine from one of my sister's favorite books. It's the thing that came to mind. If you don't like it, you can change it."

"No, I..." she smiled softly. "Eri's fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was really hard for me to write for some reason. Sorry for the update delay, and if the seems a little rushed. 
> 
> Also, if anyone hasn't noticed, I changed Isa's name to Sai to prevent further confusion. 
> 
> Please let me know if I got anything wrong here! Again, I don't know much about hospitals! Or amnesia, tbh.


End file.
